


Perfect

by Morse_s Child (sherlockstummy)



Category: Inspector Morse (TV)
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Birthday Party, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 07:36:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7675717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sherlockstummy/pseuds/Morse_s%20Child
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Morse is invited to a birthday party. His birthday party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> For the lovely curse-you!! Happy birfdae, dear one!

Morse didn’t know what to expect, he only knew he should do as he was told: arrive promptly at 6pm. Under no circumstances was he to be late.

As Morse drove, he thought back to the last time he’d had an actual birthday celebration. His mother had probably thrown him a small party of sorts, with homemade cake and a few presents wrapped in brown paper. (One was probably a bible.) But memories of his mother were faint and fleeting. 

He was certain that his father had taken him for a pint when he came of age. But Morse, at that time, was a teetotaler. His father got drunk, and Morse had to drive him home to face Gwen’s disapproving glares.

He hadn’t really celebrated since, come to think of it. A toast of special beer, or tickets to a concert, and that had been that. This was effectively his first birthday party in years. The flutter of excitement in his stomach at the thought immediately made him ashamed. He shouldn’t really be getting his hopes up; after all, he was only an old man.

He arrived at the Lewis household and parked, but he sat uneasily in his car, unable to move. He found himself riddled with anxiety. How did one behave at a birthday party? He was worried that Robbie and Val had fussed and gone out of their way, all for him. The thought was so overwhelming, it made his head spin.

At long last, he felt a right idiot for sitting in the car all this time (ten minutes had passed), and got out, stomach still twisted in knots. Hesitantly, he rang the bell.

The door swung open and Morse was greeted by his sergeant, a cheerful, welcoming smile on his face, blue eyes bright and warm. Morse felt more at ease in an instant; Robbie could so easily make people feel at home. “Hallo, sir!” He greeted cheerfully. “Yer early!”

“I was told to be prompt,” Morse replied shyly.

“C’mon in!” Robbie stepped aside and Morse crossed the threshold, only to have his hand taken and tugged closer. Now that they were away from prying eyes, Robbie was free to show affection. He bent and kissed Morse briefly. “Happy birfdae, luv.”

Morse felt so dizzy, he could faint. “Thank you, Robbie,” he managed to say, heart full. Robbie chuckled, resting his forehead against Morse’s. 

“Uncle Morse!”

Robbie and Morse looked up just in time to see Lyn and Mark charge down the hall. They slowed down as they reached the two adults and tightly hugged Morse at the same time.

Morse chuckled, an arm around each of them, his hands on their heads. “Hello, Lyn. Hello, Mark. I’ve missed you two.” The children had taken to calling him “uncle,” which suited him just fine. To be fair to them, he wouldn’t have any idea what to call his parents’ lover either.

“I almost didn’t finish my card!” Mark said.

“Wait til you see what mum and dad got you!” Lyn cried excitedly.

“Don’t give anything away, now,” Robbie scolded gently.

The children nodded, and, with one last squeeze, they went back to the kitchen.

Robbie took Morse’s hand. “Everything okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

Morse chuckled. “No, Robbie.” He smiled. “I feel very…loved. You didn’t have to go through any trouble.”

“We wanted to.” Robbie insisted. “If Ah’m honest, it was our Val’s idea.”

Morse knew Geordie very well at this point, but he was certain Robbie meant “our” in the usual way, and that very nearly made him float up to the ceiling with glee. He said nothing, resting his head lightly against Robbie’s shoulder.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Robbie said as he led Morse toward the kitchen, letting go of Morse’s hand as he did so.

Morse could smell the familiar scent of pasta boiling away on the stove, along with a lovely bolognaise sauce. It made his stomach growl; he hadn’t had much to eat this week, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten a home-cooked meal.

Val turned from the stove as he entered, and as he crossed the room, Robbie took up the cooking. Well, it was stirring, at this point; the meal, as stated, was almost complete. She smiled, her hand cupping his cheek as she leaned in to kiss him. “Hello, love. You look overwhelmed.”

Morse smiled shyly. “I am! It’s…I’m grateful, but you didn’t…”

Val silenced him with a gentle kiss. “Enough. I wanted to. We all did. No one should have to be alone on their birthday.”

“Yeh’ve got twice the love,” Robbie said over his shoulder. “Gotta take advantage.”

“The pasta’s ready to be strained now, love,” Val said, and as Robbie set about doing that, Val took Morse’s arm. “You sit down, now. The children have gone to fetch their gifts, and then after dinner, you’ll get ours.”

Morse swallowed his protestations; Val may have looked the mild-mannered housewife, but she was not one to be trifled with. Instead, he said: “Thank you.” It didn’t seem like enough to express what he was feeing…but maybe words would come with a full stomach.

The children came stomping back downstairs and rushed into the kitchen.

“I want to go first!” Mark whined.

“I was born first!” Lyn argued.

“Ladies first,” Morse chuckled, turning slightly in his chair to face them. Lyn stepped forward proudly and handed him an envelope with a small box. Morse opened the card and, noticing it was hand-drawn, nearly let tears escape his eyes. He smiled as he read Lyn’s heartfelt message of love and welcome, and held out his arm for her. She came close to his side, her arms looped around his neck.

“Thank you, Lyn.”

Lyn kissed his cheek. “I’m glad you like it. Open your present!”

Morse did as he was told, and found an intricately braided rope with a loop at the top. It was small, with various warm tones.

“For your keys,” Lyn explained.

“I’ll affix it immediately,” Morse replied, smiling as he hugged her. “Thank you.”

Lyn smiled and stepped aside so Mark could present his gift. Like Lyn, he had drawn a card but, being younger than his sister, it was more crudely drawn and worded. Morse spotted three spelling errors, but it endeared him all the more. Then, Mark presented his gift.

It was a drawing of his family, which now included Morse. Crudely drawn, as the card had been, but Morse felt he had never seen a more beautiful work of art. “It’s wonderful,” he said with feeling. “Thank you, Mark.”

Mark hugged him. “You’re welcome, Uncle Morse.”

“All right, you two.” Val commanded, “wash up! Dinner’s ready!”

 

Dinner was excellently Italian. Morse had not had such delicious pasta outside of Italy before, and the garlic bread side was soft and buttery (though Val assured him it wasn’t real butter, to be partial to his doctor’s wishes). He ate more than was probably polite, but Val’s prideful smile and the warmth of a home-cooked meal in his stomach quickly erased his shyness.

It was time now to retire to the sitting room. The children sat down before the telly to watch some program or other, while Robbie and Morse relaxed on the sofa. Val brought in two beers and went back to the kitchen to start clearing up.

Robbie lifted up his beer. He was slightly slumped, Morse observed with satisfaction. It was frankly adorable, and likely reflected how much he’d eaten. “A toast, luv. To your health, and to another year.”

Morse smiled and clinked bottles. “I’ll drink to that.” He did like how Robbie’s “sir”s turned to “luv”s when they were alone.

Val brought out coffee and pastries. “I didn’t know how you felt about cake, but when Robbie told me you liked Italian, I thought of these.”

Morse gladly took one. “Thank you. They look delicious.”

“It’s more important to me how they taste,” Val replied with a hint of nervousness.

Morse took a bite. “Delicious,” he reassured her. Val relaxed, sitting down between her boys.

When it was time for the children to go to bed, they each kissed Morse goodnight along with their parents and trudged up to bed. Robbie went into the next room and brought out a smooth, rectangular box.

“I told you to wrap it!” Val scolded.

“Ah forgot.” Robbie shrugged.

“It doesn’t matter to me.” Morse replied. Robbie shot Val a cheeky look and she rolled her eyes.

Robbie handed Morse the box. “Open it, then.”

Morse took the lid off the box and his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. “Tickets to Seigfried! I thought these were sold out!”

Val and Robbie smiled.

Morse looked at the number of tickets. “Three?”

“Do you mind if we join you?” Val asked, placing her hand on his knee.

“We’ve gotta see what all the fuss is about.” Robbie sat down next to Morse. “So? Whaddya think?”

Morse beamed. “I think we’re going to the opera.”

 

 

When it was time for Morse to go home, as he was tired from the day, Val made sure he had everything as Robbie watched.

“You’ll have to come over for dinner more often,” Val announced. “If what Robbie tells me about the contents of your fridge, this was your first real meal in weeks.”

Morse held up his hands, chuckling. “Guilty.”

Val rolled her eyes fondly and kissed his cheek. “I expect to see you again on Sunday.”

“Yes ma’m.”

Robbie kissed Morse goodnight as well. “I’ll see you in the morning, Sir.”

Morse nodded. “Goodnight, Robbie. Goodnight, Val.”

“Night!” Called the two as he left.

Morse started up his car, and realized that, despite the nourishment, the only word he could use to describe the night was…

Perfect.


End file.
